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Emerald Dream
: This article is about the lore of the Emerald Dream. For realms, see Emerald Dream (US RPPvP server) and Emerald Dream (EU PvE server). The Emerald Dream (also known as the Dream of Creation or simply the Dream) is the verdant realm of the Dragon Aspect Ysera. It appears to those who travel within it as Azeroth would have appeared without the development of the sapient races, which means that it is what Azeroth would have been if not for humans, elves, and other intelligent creatures. In essence, this plane shows travelers what their world would be if intelligent races had not cut forests, farmed prairies, diverted rivers and built cities (and had Kalimdor not been shattered by the Sundering). It is a vision of the world as a verdant natural paradise. Tranquil forests stretch away in every direction, and rolling hills and majestic mountains mimic Azeroth's landscape. Lore ".]] One could say that Azeroth and the Emerald Dream are quasi-duplicates of each other — the Emerald Dream is Azeroth as seen through a magic lens, untouched by the hands of mortals. The Emerald Dream is the Azeroth that would not have been split by magic into the three landmasses of today — within it is the original greater landmass of Kalimdor, covered in the hazy emerald green forests of aeons past. Nature is in a perfect balance in the Emerald Dream. Animals of all types inhabit the world, including some that are extinct on Azeroth and subspecies that never got the chance to evolve. Many fey creatures, such as sprites and faerie dragons, also roam the forests. However, it is not only the inhabitant creatures that roam the Dream. Creatures from Azeroth constantly visit, though they may or may not know it. Dreaming creatures arrive in the Emerald Dream and often have prophetic and helpful visions. Druids enter the plane through their connection with nature. While within the dream, the traveler can, through exercise of will, view the waking world and to a limited extent interact with it (as presumably all aspects of the world have some connection to the Emerald Dream). Accessing the Emerald Dream via more conventional magic is possible, but the plane’s natives do not look kindly on intruders. The entire plane is the dominion of Ysera, the mighty green dragon Aspect, and she and her brood ensure that none despoil this paradise. For all its wonder, the Emerald Dream is not without its dangers. Those who visit via their dreams are welcomed and enfolded within the natural balance, but those who bring their physical selves face suspicion and hostility. The druid Malfurion Stormrage made use of the Emerald Dream to enter into the palace of Queen Azshara and thwart the plans of Lord Xavius. Ysera herself and a great number of the green dragonflight reside in the dream either permanently or occasionally, as do the vast majority of the Night Elf Druids. As part of an ancient pact made between Ysera and Malfurion Stormrage, the druids are required to spend long periods of time sleeping in the Emerald Dream in exchange for their powers over the forces of nature, presumably so that they will better appreciate that which they have pledged themselves to preserve. Recently, strange events have been transpiring within the Emerald Dream and it appears that Malfurion himself may be trapped within its confines. The creatures of Azeroth can visit the Emerald Dream either physically or via dreams, as the realm's name indicates. When an individual's spirit visits the Dream, leaving the body behind, that individual will manifest his or her dream form, which normally looks and behaves much as that individual's physical body might. Hence, for most creatures, moving through the Dream is achieved in the normal fashion, despite the realm's chiefly spiritual character. These rules do not apply to druids of sufficient skill or experience, who are trained to see beyond physical reality. These druids might be capable of abnormal movement in the Dream (e.g., a night elf who can sprint at a greatly accelerated rate, walk through solid objects, or fly). It is quite rare to see such unusual capabilities in non-druids, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility. The Emerald Dream also has multiple layers, described by Cenarius as different testing versions of Azeroth. Each layer represents an abandoned segment or idea that the titans tried and ultimately discarded. Malfurion observed that it looks like neither the mortal plane nor the Emerald Dream. He saw that one mountain peak lacked its northern face, while another peak looked as if someone had started molding it like clay but had lost interest. These layers were normally uninhabited and invisible, but could be accessed by any who knew how to navigate them.The Sundering, 67 A darker force has found its way into the Emerald Dream as well. Called the Nightmare, this mobile area of corruption stems from the twisted thoughts and fears of sleeping beings’ subconscious minds. The Nightmare travels slowly through the Emerald Dream, leaving corrupted, vicious animals and Unwaking travelers in its path. None, not even Ysera, knows why the Nightmare exists — nor why its boundaries grow. Zones/Sub-regions There are several places of interest in the Dream. Outside of these areas, the plane is an exact twin of the world it echoes, save for the lushness of vegetation and the lack of corruption by intelligent creatures.Shadows & Light, 146 *Eye of Ysera *The Nightmare *Ysera's Dreamways Races and Creatures In World of Warcraft Rumors dating back to the early development phase of World of Warcraft in 2003 suggest that the Emerald Dream may be added in a future patch or expansion pack as an endgame zone or as a new continent. New speculation suggests that the Emerald Dream was originally intended to be an endgame instance, but got scrapped because Blizzard wanted it to be the main theme of an expansion. Tigole stated in late May 2007 that Blizzard had "actually done a lot of work on the Emerald Dream but we scrapped what we had for bigger, grander plans."http://www.mmo-champion.com/index.php?topic=218.0 Blizzard quotes Back before WoW's closed beta phase, Tigole mentioned interesting details about the Emerald Dream, that seem to support the idea that it will be released. Tigole on Sat, 06 Dec 2003 06:01:04 PST Actually, we have some pretty cool stuff planned for druids. They will definitely have a link to the Emerald Dream. There's also a zone on the way to the peak of Mount Hyjal called Moonglade that will be very core to druid characters. Our *master of Warcraft lore*, Chris Metzen, is never short on ideas when it comes to the druid class. I was running around the Emerald Dream last Thursday... you guys are in for a treat. The level designers are doing a killer job. Tigole on Sat, 06 Dec 2003 22:01:05 PST The Emerald Dream is shaping up to be extremely cool. We don't want to preview any of that content yet as it is *endgame* and we want some surprises for players. ... The zone is massive and beautiful. And once the content team is done with it, it will be exceedingly challenging >=] Nethaera on Wed, 06 Sep 2006 08:19:20 As for the Emerald Dream, there are no plans for anything as of yet but it is a consideration for the future. The Emerald Dream opens up a lot of different opportunities and the Burning Crusade is definitely not going to be the last of the expansion packs. There are many different places and storylines that can be pursued. The story is going to keep growing and as it does so, people will get to experience it. Quests * Speculation :See also Emerald Dream Expansion Ideas. Currently the Emerald Dream is only explorable in Quest:Hope Within the Emerald Nightmare, and that encompasses only a small section of Moonglade. The Emerald Dream will likely have more in-depth appearances in WoW at some point in the future, but it's still unclear if it will be a new zone, a world spanning several new zones (Emerald Paradise, etc.), an instance, an expansion pack, or anything else. It is a fact that five Great Trees already exist in Azeroth, with swirling green portals in front which are believed to be entrances to the Emerald Dream. These portals are in Duskwood (Twilight Grove), Feralas (Dream Bough), Hinterlands (Seradane), Ashenvale (Bough Shadow) and Crystalsong Forest (The Great Tree) in Northrend. Currently none of these portals do anything if a player steps through them. Crystalsong's tree does not even have a portal. However the portals in Ashenvale, Feralas, Duskwood, and the Hinterlands are protected by high level elite dragonkin. Also, since patch 1.8.0, the Four Dragons, who normally live in the Emerald Dream, have begun emerging from the portals at regular intervals. In written Warcraft lore (see the War of the Ancients Trilogy), the Emerald Dream is accessed by Malfurion and Cenarius by achieving a deep meditative state. Therefore, it's unclear if it will be accessible to non-druids, or if it will indeed be something that can be entered via the aforementioned portals at all. It is possible Blizzard could even add a new high level druid spell to port them directly to the Dream itself from anywhere. It should also be noted that Blizzard have edited the in game map (Not in actual game play) in the recent expansion, they have altered the Emerald Forest, by changing the map and have also moved or removed some of the objects visible pre 3.0.1 . Inspiration The Emerald Dream may have been influenced by H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands. The Dreamlands is a vast, alternate dimension that can be entered through dreams, similar to astral projection or lucid dreaming. Experienced dreamers are among the most powerful inhabitants of the Dreamlands and may become its permanent residents after their physical deaths. References External links da:The Emerald Dream Category:Game terms Category:Planes Category:Shadows & Light Category:Closed zones